The photographic cameras, particularly so-called compact cameras having, in addition to a function of normal photographing, a function of panoramic photographing have recently come into wide use as the manner or fashion in which photographing is enjoyed or utilized has rapidly become variegated. With such camera having also the function of panoramic photographing, there are usually provided along upper and lower edges of the aperture a pair of rotatable dousers adapted for partially covering the aperture during operation of the panoramic photographing so that upper and lower portions of a film frame are not exposed, resulting in a picture which is long from side to side. Additionally, use of a wide angle lens having a wide angle of view as an objective provides an effective panoramic picture. To make a normal photograph, the dousers are retracted from the portions of the aperture which have been covered by said dousers so that the film frame may be entirely exposed.
Compact cameras provided with variable focus adapted to vary the focal distance of the objective, such as bifocal means or zoom lens are also well known. With such cameras, in order to simplify the operation of varying the focal distance, a motor drive is usually utilized to move the objective along the optical axis thereof. Today, many of the cameras having also the function of panoramic photographing are provided with such a variable focus.
For the camera having also the function of panoramic photographing and provided with a variable focus it is desired to employ an objective of wide angle to achieve an effective panoramic photograph. In fact, the well known camera of this type employs the objective having the minimum focal distance or the order of 28 mm to achieve a wide angle photograph.
However, with the conventional camera provided with the variable focus, there is an apprehension that the panoramic photographing might be taken erroneously with the objective positioned at the maximum focal distance, because change-over of the focal distance is set by a photographer and the objective is immediately driven by the motor to the focal distance set by the photographer. A picture obtained by photographing with the objective positioned at the maximum focal distance will have no panoramic effect, against the photographer's intention.
If it is unclear at the moment of shutter release whether the camera is in the mode of normal photographing or in the mode of panoramic photographing, there is an apprehension that the resultant picture might be different from the intended one. More specifically, if the photographer carelessly takes the mode of panoramic photographing for the mode of normal photographing when the shutter is released, the resultant picture will have upper and lower portions cut away and, if the photographed object contains a figure, the figure will sometimes be headless in the resultant picture. On the other hand, if the photographer carelessly takes the mode of normal photographing for the mode of panoramic photographing when the shutter is released, it will be difficult for the resultant picture to have grandeur and powerfulness characterizing the panoramic picture since the shutter is released really at the camera condition for a snapshot.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a photographic camera having also a function of panoramic photographing and provided with variable focus a means adapted to assure a panoramic effect when panoramic photographing is intended.
It is another object of the invention to provide a photographic camera having also a function of panoramic photographing which allows a photographer to reliably recognize whether the mode of photographing selected is a mode of normal photographing or a mode of panoramic photographing and eliminates an apprehension that the photographing might result in a picture being different from the one the photographer intended.